Pesto Chicken Pasta

     So far my New Year resolution to make more homemade meals on the weekend is four for four.  This weekend I looked to realsimple.com for a dinner idea.  I sent Arnauld the link (since he has taken to working on Saturdays...) and he quickly responded that he though it looked delicious.  Luckily this was an easy dinner to prep and then throw together.  I baked the chicken ahead of time and when Arnauld got home, we boiled pasta, threw the rest of the ingredients in the pot, and dinner was ready.  This could easily become a quick week night meal.

Pesto Chicken Pasta

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
1 lb rigatoni
olive oil
1/2 cup kalamata olives, cut in half
1 cup mini mozzarella balls, halved
3/4 cup pesto

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Rub chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.  When cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.
3. Stir in pesto, chicken, olives, and cheese. 

Teething Biscuits

     So Wren is teething!  Her first tooth popped out on her five month birthday.  For the past two weeks, her second tooth has been teasing us with it's arrival.  Poor little thing is not a fan of her teeth.  When her tongue finds them, she pouts.  It's so sad.  We keep telling her that she has to just get used to them, they aren't going anywhere for awhile!  About the same time her first tooth appeared, Wren has also become very interested in food.  I started giving her oatmeal last week and just the other night she had her first taste of avocado.  My mom suggested giving her teething biscuits and as I began to research brands and varieties, I stumbled across recipes!  This weekend I gave my first go to teething biscuits.  They came out pretty tasty if I do say so myself, yet they were a little too soft and crumbly for Wren...until I froze them!  She had her first taste today and seemed indifferent. 

Banana Teething Biscuits

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup baby oatmeal cereal
1 large mushy banana
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp coconut oil

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1. Combing all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and form into a dough.
2. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick.
3. Use a cookie cutter to create desired shapes (I made circles) or roll into pinky length sticks.
4. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
5. Cool completely.  Be sure to watch your little one while gnawing on these biscuits!

Slow Cooker: White Bean and Apple Chili

     This weekend has been such a blur.  I went to the grocery store and completely forgot to even think about lunch for the week.  Luckily it is a short week.  I quickly scoured Pinterest this morning for something easy I could make using ingredients I already had at home...which wasn't much.  This is what I came up with, White Bean and Apple Chili.  Seems an odd combo to me...we shall see!

White Bean and Apple Chili
Ingredients
3 cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
2 apples, chopped into small pieces
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Method
1. Place the butter at the bottom of the crock pot.
2.  Top the butter with two cans of the while beans.
3. Add the apple, onion, garlic, broth, and spices.
4. Stir in the yogurt.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.
6. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup a bit, but not until it is smooth, just a bit chunky.
7. Stir in the third can of soup and heat through.
8. You can add cheddar cheese and sour cream to this chili if you want to.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

     I made this for lunch last week...I was on sort of a buffalo kick!  I never got around to snapping a picture but I thought the recipe was worth sharing.

Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb raw boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper
2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
Two 15.5 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups chopped celery
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/3 cup plus 2 1/2 tsp. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese


Method
1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken and place in the crock pot.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the hot sauce and cheese.  Stir.
3. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low.
4. Remove the chicken and shred using two forks.  Return to the crock pot along with 1/3 cup of Hot Sauce.  Stir.
5. Serve topped with a splash of hot sauce and crumbled blue cheese.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

     It was so great to see so many members of my Carey family that I haven't seen in so long.  I wish it had been under different circumstances, but it was nice to reminisce and share stories of my Nanny and Grampy with all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins. There was plenty of love and cookies to go around.  My Nanny would have been proud.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 cup coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1. Using a mixer, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
4. Spoon dough onto greased baking sheets.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden.

Spicy Oven Baked Fish and Sweet Potato Fries

     Today has been a day of reflection and reminiscing.  My Nanny passed away yesterday and I have been wracking my brain trying to remember.  While her body has been here for the past few years, her mind slipped away a long time ago.  I remember the day she showed up on our back porch, scared because she couldn't remember what to do with her pills.  I remember her smell, the shape of her fingernails, her smile, and the way her turn in Scrabble always took forever because she had to find the perfect word-consulting multiple dictionaries to assist her.  When we were little, we never had a babysitter.  Fortunately, we lived in the same town as both sets of our grandparents and if our parents needed someone to watch us, we went to one of their houses.  I remember Nanny tucking us in and singing lullabies that I now hum to Wren and try hard to remember the words to.  She lived a long life filled with a lot of love, a love that is evident in looking at all of the people that are here today as a result of her and my grandfather.  It is that love that I will remember.  As my family begins to trickle in from all over the country, I'm looking forward to the stories and memories that will be shared.

  
Spicy Oven Baked Fish and Sweet Potatoes
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
1 lb fresh white fish (I used cod)
1 lb sweet potatoes cut into 1/4-1/2 inch sticks
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
2 tbsp butter, melted
salt and pepper

Method
Preheat over to 425 degrees
1. Line two large baking sheet with foil.
2. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, chili powder, and a pinch of salt.
3. Spread the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
4. While the sweet potatoes are baking, place the milk and flour in separate shallow bowls.  Combine the bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a third shallow bowl.  Pour the melted butter and stir to combine.
5. Dip the fish first in milk, then in flour, and then back in the milk.  Lastly, dip the fish in the breadcrumb mixture and then place on a second baking sheet.
6. Flip the sweet potatoes and  put the fish into the oven.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are golden brown and the fish is flaky.

The Taste Test
     We didn't find this dish to be particularly spicy but it was tasty.  Whenever I make sweet potato fries, they never come out very crispy.  I think I read something about soaking them in water before baking... I didn't think of trying that until it was too late. 

Skinny Buffalo Chicken and Blue Cheese Dressing

     Skinnytaste.com is a great website for healthy recipes.  I have made several dishes and all have been great.  This weekend I attempted this shredded buffalo chicken in the crock pot with homemade blue cheese dressing.  The shredded chicken could be made into lettuce wraps, as suggested on Skinnytaste.  I plan to use it in salad this week for lunch.  In addition to being delicious and versatile, this recipe was easy-my number one criteria these days. 

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients
1-2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 celery stalk
1 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 celery stalk
2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup Red Hot Wing Sauce

Method
1. Place chicken in crock pot.
2. Add onion, celery stalk (whole), garlic, and broth.  If the broth does not completely cover the chicken, add water.
3. Cook on high for 4 hours.
4. Remove chicken from the crock pot. Reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid and discard the rest.
5. Shred the chicken using 2 forks.  Return to the crock pot.  Add the hot sauce and cook on high for 30 minutes.

Skinny Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 cup blue cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. In a small bowl, use a fork to mash together the cheese and yogurt.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

We are our own party whenever we are all together...which is pretty often!

Wren loves Maverick so much she wants to eat him.

Cooking Light Meyer Lemon Chicken

     Happy 2013!  Last year, after January 1st, I heard of someone who wanted to make gains in the new year.  So often at the start of a new year, people want to lose weight or lose a bad habit.  I love the idea of gaining something positive.  I have been inspired by the wave of kindness that has swept the nation, however, most examples I have heard about involve people buying things for others-cups of coffee and gift cards at the grocery store.  These things are nice and are sweet gestures that can definitely make someone's day and inspire them to also do something kind.  I think that this will to be kind can also be something much smaller, a smile, a held door, a genuine "how are you?"  I'd like to try and incorporate more of this small acts of kindness into my every day life.
     Another gain, is healthier weekend meals!  Arnauld and I have gotten into a bit of a rut of quick weekend dinners-often involving take out or something that can be whipped up fast.  I proposed more homemade meals that we can prepare or at least decide on together.  This meal will allow us to not only eat healthier but we will also gain time together in the planning and preparation.  An added bonus...my blog will also benefit!
     This week, I got the January/February issue of Cooking Light which featured 25 new chicken recipes.  I read the variety of recipe titles to Arnauld over dinner last night and together we decided on a skillet meal, Meyer Lemon Chicken.  The end product was colorful and delicious.

Meyer Lemon Chicken

 Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, skin on
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp pepper
Cooking Spray
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb red potatoes, cut into cubes
1 lemon, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp cornstarch
2 oz Castelvetrano Olives-(these are green olives in case you didn't know either!)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Coat with cooking spray.  Add to a skillet, heated over medium-high heat, skin side down.  Cook for 6 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown.  Flip the chicken over and place in over.  Cook for 12-18 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Remove the chicken from the skillet and keep warm.  Remove excess grease from the pan and then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Add the potatoes to the skillet.  Cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until browned.  Remove from skillet.
4. Add the lemon slices to the skillet and cook each side for 1 minute.  Remove.
5. Add remaining oil to the skillet and mix in the shallots and garlic.  Saute for about 2 minutes and then add the wine and thyme.  Cook for 1 minute or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. Return the potatoes and lemon to the skillet.  Add 2/3 cup of the vegetable broth and the remaining salt and pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
7. Mix together the cornstarch and the rest of the vegetable broth.  Add this mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
8. Stir in the lemon juice and butter.  Continue stirring until the butter is melted.
9. Return the chicken to the skillet, covering with the sauce.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Last week, while on break, I got to spend some time with my nephews.  One of my favorite gifts I bought this year was for them.  Each month they will receive a box containing everything they need to complete a couple of art projects.  It comes from a company called Kiwi Crate.  I was excited to help them decorate these penguins that we later used to play Penguin Bowling!